A year after her death at age 89, Gabrielle Stocker's Last Will was released this week, stunning legions of her Santa Cruz musician friends with extravagant bequests.
Stocker — a beloved singer, instrumentalist, teacher, and activist in Santa Cruz — bequeathed approximately $1 million each to the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Santa Cruz Chamber Players, and New Music Works. She also left more than $500,000 to Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra.
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Stocker immigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1941. She lived in North Carolina and Seattle, where she attended the University of Washington. In 1962, Stocker and her family moved to Ithaca, NY, where she studied mathematics and computer programming while regularly playing in recorder ensembles.
After spending a decade in San Jose and earning more teaching credentials from San Jose State University, Stocker moved to Santa Cruz in 1976, where she settled for the rest of her life. She earned a B.A. in music from UCSC, participated in choruses, and played in chamber music groups and orchestras.
“We are deeply grateful for this transformational gift and the confidence it represents in the future of Santa Cruz Chamber Players,” SCCP General Manager Ben Dorfan told SF Classical Voice.
“As a former member of our board and supporter of our mission to bring live chamber music into our local community, Gabrielle Stocker has entrusted us with a musical legacy built over her many years of playing, teaching, friendship, and shared music-making.
“On behalf of the Chamber Players, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Gabrielle for this remarkable gift, and acknowledge her memory and love of music as part of that legacy which continues to bring joy to us all.”
Are there specific plans for the use of the donation?
“Because those discussions are still ongoing, it would be premature to discuss specific allocations,” Dorfan said. “Areas under consideration include artist support, audience development, organizational capacity, and long-term financial sustainability.”
Cabrillo Festival Executive Director D. Riley Nicholson said, “Gabrielle Stocker was a longtime festival subscriber and donor, a consistent, warm, and kind presence for many decades. Her love of music was palpable, both in her enduring support of our music and in her own musicality as a recorder, crumhorn, and viola da gamba player.”
Not only was she an annual donor, but also a commissioner — in 2012, she helped co-commission A Hidden World of Girls: Stories for Orchestra, dedicating her gift in honor of her daughter Carol and granddaughters Erin, Ananda, and Adinda.
Cabrillo Festival’s “New Music Forever Endeavor” program specifies that, unless otherwise designated, legacy gifts go to the Artistic Initiative Reserve Fund (AIR Fund) — an investment fund that supports special artistic initiatives and the long-term vitality and health of the Festival and its mission.
“This fund is separate from our general budget,” Nicholson said. “Our board can annually approve a percentage draw, allowing us to be creatively ambitious while maintaining the security and stability we need to support our artists for many years to come.
“Gabrielle’s gift via the Allaria Trust comes at a time when institutional funding is volatile, Federal support has effectively ended, attacks on creative and free speech are increasing, and there is much uncertainty in the world around us. So, the timing of this gift makes it especially and robustly meaningful, allowing us to continue with confidence despite the disruptive dynamics of the moment.”
